


You'll Remember Me

by Run_of_the_mill



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Also: Mermaid's revenge!, He deserves every ounce of it, I'm not sure that's what the original author had in mind, Karma being a fucking bitch to Tom, M/M, My brain is slightly weird, No one causes Fred's death and gets away with it!, Rebirth, Suffer you little bastard, Sweet revenge!, T-T, Tom is sweet for unknown reasons, Tom totally turned into a cinammon roll, let's face it, merfolk, wtf?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-02
Updated: 2017-11-16
Packaged: 2019-01-28 09:03:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12603076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Run_of_the_mill/pseuds/Run_of_the_mill
Summary: "Voldemort was dead, but something had survived. Tom Riddle woke up and he could remember nothing.Harry Potter has come back to Hogwarts to help rebuild and move on from the war. Only, its a little hard to do that when a Tom Riddle look alike just saved your life."-Summary by UnspeakableSkyHe wakes up on the lakebed, powerful tail curled protectively around his body. He can't remember a thing except for a fleeting sensation of green. He's simply lost. And alone.Harry Potter has got to be the unluckiest person to walk this earth. There is no other explanation. Why else would he possibly be hurtling at break-neck speed towards the Black Lake?





	1. A Curse to Remember

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



> This is for UnspeakableSky, who decided to allow me to adopt this wonderful story. I know I said it would take a while, but I was suddenly inspired. This chapter, and probably the next, is just me reworking the story to fit my style, so sorry if you sort of already know where the story is going.

The first time Tom saw one was on that fateful day when he first applied for the position of DADA professor. Of course, Dippet had immediately refused, stating lack of experience as the reason. Dumbledore had nodded in agreement but, oddly enough, had seemed slightly regretful about the decision.

  
Tom had left Dippet’s office in a huff, running away from the rejection as if distance would soothe his bruised ego. He’d been wandering Hogwarts’ grounds, feeling nostalgic, but mostly trying to find a place to apparate from where no one could ask about what happened and be witness to his shame. He somehow ended up on the path towards the Black Lake, sucking on his lower lip and ignoring the rage-filled tears that ran down his cheeks.

  
Tom heard her before he saw her. She screamed in agony and it felt like music to his ears. His blackened soul reveled in her suffering. He really wanted to just settle down comfortably and enjoy the scene. There was nothing like good, old torture to make one feel better about oneself. But he had appearances to keep up and she’d seen him. Merlin forbid, she got away and went around spreading rumors about him. He sighed, frustrated, but walked towards them.

  
A massive spider was dragging her by the tail. Tom thought it might be Hagrid’s little pet. It wasn’t very little anymore and the sight of it reignited Tom’s old rage about being forced to use it to explain the Basilisk’s killings. The majestic being’s prowess being attributed to this piece of crap filled him with overwhelming anger. He screamed a _Bombarda_ at it, frustrated that an _Avada Kedavra_ would alert the mermaid to his darker tendencies. The charm did not hurt the beast but it did frighten it away. It released the mermaid and scuttled away, shrieking madly.

  
Tom walked over and gave her a once over. She seemed fine except for that one wound where the spider-beast had speared her through with its claw. Tom wasn’t sure that his healing knowledge applied to her kind, but he had nothing to lose by trying. He waved his bone-white wand over her tail as she watched him, curiously, through her pain. Her relief was obviously instant as fat and sinew mended itself until her tail was woundless again. She looked up at him in obvious gratitude. Then, her features contorted in worry.

  
“Why are you crying?” she asked.

  
“I’m frustrated,” he answered, uncharacteristically honest. “And _so angry!”_ She sighed and patted his shoulder. A shudder of revulsion wracked his body at the idea that he had given this… this… _half-breed_ the impression that a _creature_ like her could touch one so high as him. He wiped his tears and sneered cruelly at her and she recoiled, as if stung.

  
“You’re broken,” she whispered, voice filled with dread. “Why would you do something _that_ horrible? Are you _mad?”_ And Tom knew that she had, somehow, figured out his secret.

  
“What are you doing here?” he asked, ignoring what she had said. “So close to the surface. Your kind don’t go this close to the surface. Ever. So, why are _you_ here?”

  
“I-I just wanted to see humans,” she stuttered. “There’s stories my clan passes down about you lot, but I just had to see for myself.”

  
“So, you’re an idiot,” Tom declared. She spluttered but he didn’t give her the chance to continue. He got up and started to walk away, leaving her to get back to the water on her own. She wasn’t too far. It was feasible. And if she ended up drying to death where she was, well, Tom would remember her carcass fondly.

  
“Wait!” she called. “You saved me. I owe you a favour. Anything you want. I can even mend your soul for you.” Tom turned around with a vicious snarl. He pointed his wand at her and thick vines rose up from the ground, wrapping around her and lifting her into the air. She thrashed around in fear and he felt a familiar glee fill his chest. The sort that only arose when he was about to murder.

  
“D-don’t,” she warned. “I’ll curse you, if you do!”

  
“You?!” he asked, “A powerless _beast_ like _you_ will curse me? Lord Voldemort?” He cackled and clapped his hands.

  
“Go ahead,” he said with a sinister smile. “I dare you.” She clenched her jaw and stared at him for a moment.

  
“I curse you,” she whispered. “I curse you, Tom Marvolo Riddle. When you least want it, your greatest wish, your heart’s deepest desire will be granted. You’ll remember me then. You’ll remember that I gave you a chance to save yourself. You’ll remember that your hell is of your own making. You’ll remember.”

  
Tom would never admit it but, in that moment, a small part of him was terrified of the mermaid. A small part of him believed her. But that small part was quickly squashed and Tom raised his wand. It was over quickly after that. Tom could not risk someone else finding him if he drew it out for his own pleasure. He left her, dangling like his personal twisted version of a piñata. He laughed one last time at the idea of whatever poor soul would eventually find it.

  
**Years later…**

  
Harry stared at the ceiling of his room in the Burrow. He was lying down on Ron’s Gryffindor-red comforter, listening to the household’s usual hustle and bustle. The war was finally over and Harry was… relieved, for lack of a better word. No more Dark Lords to worry about. No more loved ones to be lost. Just. Peace.

  
Well, about as much peace as being the wizarding world’s Golden Boy could afford. That was one part of this gig that Harry could do without: the constant hounding of paparazzi and rabid fans. They were _everywhere._ Even in the most ridiculous of places.

  
The toilet stall next to his. The dressing room next to his. The flippin’ _muggle_ shop’s toilet stall next to his. What the actual fuck, bitch? Was there _nothing_ sacred anymore?

  
As a result, Harry’s version of going out found itself severely limited to playing quidditch in the Burrow’s backyard. He wasn’t happy about it. Ginny wasn’t happy about it. Ron wasn’t happy about it. And Hermione was _so_ unhappy about it that she had gone on a rant about respecting people’s privacy in the _Daily Prophet._

She was utterly and completely ignored.

  
So, here Harry was, counting the grains in the ceiling of his and Ron’s shared bedroom while listening to the latter bickering with his, now official, girlfriend. Hermione was arguing that “it” would never stay up without some sort of charm and Ron made the case that the _whole_ Burrow was still standing solely on a charm’s goodwill. Harry laughed in agreement.

  
Ginny walked in to that scene and she looked at him as if she questioned his sanity. He merely smiled and she held out a hand to him. Harry took it and they went down to lunch together. The whole Weasley clan was gathered there. They would all eat together before heading out to Hogwarts to help in the cleaning process.

  
That was the thing with Hogwarts Castle. While she immediately rebuilt herself from any damage she suffered, cleaning up was a whole different thing. That had to be done either manually or magically. Hence, the need for Filch. But, after the war, the Castle was so dusty and messy that, if Filch were to do it alone and with no magic, seeing as he was a squib, he would take a few decades. Unfortunately, the first term of the next school year was starting soon and Headmistress McGonagall had been force to decide that she had to open the Castle to anyone who wanted to help get the school ready in time for classes to start.

  
The Weasley clan had all volunteered and Harry found himself roped into the process, even though he was in no hurry to revisit the place where he had, essentially, taken the life of a man whose hatred had once been the only constant in his ever-chaotic life.

  
That was one more thing that Harry hated about the end of the war. He often found himself staring at the mirror, wondering what was missing. Because _that’s_ what it felt like. Like something crucial was missing from him. Harry had not noticed when he’d first woken up from being dead but, now, that was _all_ he could truly focus on. When he tried to think of anything else, he found that the thought of that missing part remained at the back of his mind, like a particularly annoying earworm that he would never be rid of.

  
Ginny squeezed his hand as they walked away from the Burrow’s anti-paparazzi-and-crazy-fans wards (courtesy of Bill and Charlie. Charlie assured him that even a dragon would be hard-pressed to break through those wards) so they could apparate outside Hogwarts’ wards.

  
They landed at the Castle’s Hogsmeade exit. Harry immediately let go of Ginny’s hand. Some sort of strange distance had grown between them after the war. Harry had once thought that he was deeply in love with Ginny and that, should he survive the war, he’d do his best to win her back. And he had, after a lot of begging and apologising. But, now that they were back together, Harry felt that things were no longer what they used to be. Harry was afraid to think about the fact that he might have fallen out of love with Ginny. The idea was terrifying because, if it was true, then Harry was a changed man. Ginny was perfect for the Harry he had been from before the war. But war veteran Harry was different. Ginny may no longer be what he needed and, if so, then he would have to break up with her and lose yet another part of himself to this war.

  
It hurt.

  
Headmistress McGonagall stood at the Castle doors, welcoming volunteers and directing them to wherever they could go to provide help. She smiled one of her rare smiles as she caught sight of Harry and Ginny and told them to go sort out the Trophy room. Bellatrix Lestrange had chased Neville down the room in an effort to finish her “Longbottom collection” and had left the trophies and their cases all over the place. Harry and Ginny were to hand pick each trophy and spell them clean before sending them back to the appropriate cases.

  
They worked in silence, occasionally bringing their strange finds to the other’s attention. Once, Ginny found a plaque awarded to a student for ‘Not Letting the Mandrake Get Away for the Twelfth Time’. Harry had wondered out loud how a mandrake could get away seeing as it was buried in the ground, causing Ginny to laugh even harder than she already was. She claimed that she may have peed her pants and Harry assured her that she wasn’t the only one. They continued like that, going back and forth with the hilarious and ridiculous trophies and plaques they came across until Harry finally put his hands on it.

  
Tom Riddle’s plaque.

  
Harry sat down and stared at it, thinking about the handsome youth from the Chamber of Secrets. Tom Riddle was a bundle of _such_ wasted potential. He could have been a great man. Philosopher. Ground-breaking Unspeakable. Minister for Magic. Perhaps the next Merlin even. Merlin only knew how powerful Tom Riddle had been and could have been before he had turned into the hollow, insane wraith that Voldemort had been. He could have been great and Harry sat there, staring at an undeserved plaque, mourning ‘could have’s and ‘should have’s.

  
“I think,” Harry said, stopping Ginny in her cleaning of an obnoxiously large trophy. “That it is _incredibly_ sad that I am the only person who mourns him.”

  
“Who?” she asked, curiously. He showed her the plaque and she pursed her lips in understanding. She came to sit next to him and took the plaque from his hands. “He was practically family to you, I think. That scary, racist grandpa you can’t get rid of and tries to kill you every time you meet. But he was a constant. For seventeen years of your life, the only thing you never doubted was that your racist grandpa was out for your blood. Every. Single. Day. _And_ you also know what he was like when he was just Tom. You, and no one else, understand him, empathize with him, and pity him. We don’t and that is why you’re the only one who mourns him.”

  
“He meant something to me,” Harry said, wiping furiously at his tears. “More than just the fear he inspired in everyone else. To me, he was just another abused orphan. And he needed to be loved _so badly,_ Ginny. You have no idea. But no one did and that’s probably the one thing I’ll always hold against Albus Dumbledore. He _knew_ Tom needed someone but he still decided to maintain a professional relationship with that little, broken boy. I guess he learned from that mistake and avoided doing the same with me. But I wish he had done for Tom what he did for me.” Ginny nodded and hugged him close to her chest. Harry knew that she did not truly understand, having known only the monster and not the unloved child. But, for him, she still attempted to understand and he was grateful.

  
She stood and went to the Trophy room’s window. It overlooked the Black Lake and she opened it. The plaque was falling to the water before Harry even had the chance to stop her. He pushed her out of the way and peered down the cliff this part of the Castle stood upon, as if there was any chance that, if he stared hard enough, he would be able to see the plaque. He didn’t. But what he saw instead made his blood run cold.

  
There he was, handsome face peering right back at him from the top of the inky, black water.

  
Tom Marvolo Riddle. 


	2. Bring Me Something Shiny

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aight. I had this done yesterday but i had a major fever, so it's only today that i'm managing to post. Enjoy.

He woke up, unable to remember a thing. His tail was curled protectively around his upper body and he slowly raised his head to peek out of the silver green scaly coils. He, immediately, came eye to eye with another scaly being.

_A fish_ , his mind supplied. It stared at him and he stared at it. The staring contest went on for a while as another creature sat, barely visible, in his peripheral vision. The other creature chuckled quietly and the nameless mer turned around a little, still within his coils, to stare at it. The creature saw it as an opportunity to come closer and Nameless noticed that it looked rather similar to him. With a few, minor differences. The other creature had a shorter tail that did not look like it could coil around its upper body, the way Nameless’ could. It also had greenish skin, which Nameless didn’t, as evidenced by the pale hand he held up against the other creature’s skin.

  
Also, Nameless’ tail was prettier.

  
“What’s your name?” the creature asked. 

  
“I don’t know,” Nameless answered. “I can’t remember.” The other pursed his lips, in consideration of the information.

  
“Nameless, you shall be, then,” the creature said, eventually. “I am Melark.”

  
“Hello, Melark,”Nameless said, not knowing how else to respond. The creature caught the fish by its tail and waved it near Nameless’ face. “Eat.”

  
Nameless took the offering, brought it inside his coils, and bit into it, tentatively. It tasted fine but the fish had little bones that hurt his mouth. He found himself forced to stop every now and then to pick them out. Melark stared at him, curiously.

  
Once Nameless was done eating, he reached inside the coils, grabbed the amnesiac mer’s jaw, and opened his mouth wide. Melark stared at it for a while before opening his own mouth to show Nameless the difference. And different they were. Melark had sharp, jagged, shark-like teeth. Nameless ran a tongue along his and found that, while they were sharp, they were rather straight and flat.

  
Nameless was contemplating their differences when something fell with a ‘PLOP’ from above, before gently setting down on top of his hair. The mer shook it off and it landed just outside his coils. He uncoiled and was pushing up before Melark could even think of stopping him. His face breached the surface just as another face leaned out of a giant castle’s window. Melark called to him from under the water, begging him to get back in, before he was seen. It was too late, though.

  
Green eyes zeroed in on him and widened. The person leaned further down and Nameless encouraged it in his mind. He hoped that this person would fall. Nameless would catch and keep him. He liked treasure, Nameless remembered gleefully. He had none for now, but this person could be his first bit.

  
Nameless dove under the water and swam up to the cliff. He slapped it with his tail, causing a powerful tremor to run up it, and resurfaced just as the green-eyed person fell with a scream. Nameless raised an arm and the water rose with him, in a wave that caught the person. Nameless brought the _human,_ as he now remembered, down to the lakebed. It struggled all the way but, soon became still. Melark watched him, horrified.

  
“Send him back!” Melark demanded. Nameless snarled at him and hid the human in his coils.

  
“You don’t understand,” Melark said, clearly panicked, now. “Humans need air, to breathe. He’s going to die!” Nameless raised a brow and wracked his brain for any such information. He finally found the right information and was forced to admit that Melark was, indeed, right. Humans did need air to survive. It grated on Nameless’ nerves but he would have to let go of this one if he wished for it to remain pretty. Humans, as Nameless remembered, became ugly very quickly once they died.

  
So, with a heavy heart, Nameless grabbed the human by its arms and hauled it to the lakeshore. It didn’t immediately start moving as air became available, so Nameless slapped it a little. It would be such a shame if the human was already dead. Slapping its face didn’t help, so Nameless tried slapping its chest. His mind supplied that this was a good idea and Nameless slapped the human’s chest and stomach until it coughed and spluttered water out.

  
The human turned on its side and choked the water out, then turned on its back again. It squinted at Nameless and the mer thought that, perhaps it could not see. It had worn what Nameless has recognised as glasses before falling. Said glasses were, now, nowhere to be found. Nameless brought his face closer so the human could see him. It gasped and pulled away.

  
“Riddle?!” it asked, alarmed. Nameless tilted his head in confusion.

  
“What riddle?” he asked.

  
“No, not a riddle,” the human corrected. “Your name. Tom Marvolo Riddle.”

  
***

  
Harry stared at the merman as he worked through this new information. He seemed confused and Harry thought that, perhaps he was wrong and this was only someone unfortunate enough to be born with the same face. Unfortunately, the merman promptly disproved that theory with his next question.

  
“Is that really my name?” he asked. “Do you know me?”

  
“I’m not sure,” Harry said, even though he was rather certain. There was only one way to confirm it. _:Do you understand me?:_ The merman rolled his eyes.

  
_:I’m not stupid,:_ he hissed, slipping into the parseltongue like it was nothing. _:I do understand English, thank you very much.:_

  
_:That’s not English,:_ Harry whispered, horrified. _:And you’re supposed to be dead. Not turned into a fish!:_ And their argument might have continued for a while because Tom clearly took offense to being called ‘fish’. But, Harry heard the steady _thud, thud, thud_ that meant people were coming.

Without knowing why, he pushed on Tom’s arm. _:You need to leave before the other humans see you.:_

_:Tell me why, first,:_ Tom demanded. He crossed his arms and sat on the lakeshore, unmoving. He was too heavy for Harry to successfully push. So the boy did the only reasonable thing. He told the truth.

  
_:Because, you_ doofus _lord, they want to_ kill _you!:_ Harry hissed. Tom immediately jumped back into the water. Apparently, his self-preservation instinct was still very much alive and kicking. He turned back, with only his face sticking out of the water.

  
_:Will you come back?:_ he asked. Harry considered for only half-a-second before hurriedly agreeing.

  
_:Tonight. When everyone’s sleeping,:_ he told the mer. Tom nodded and seemed to come to a conclusion.

  
_:Then bring me something shiny,:_ he demanded. Harry stared at him, trying to figure out if he was joking. Tom seemed absolutely serious and Harry found himself nodding, dazedly. The handsome mer grinned and disappeared under the waves just as Ginny made it to him. She gathered him in her arms and smothered him with kisses before grumbling about how stupid he had been in his ear.

  
***

  
Tom’s human came back much, much later. The moon had already been out for a long time by then and Tom was tired of swimming along the shore. He thought that he might have missed the boy, seeing as they had not agreed on any meeting place. Tom wondered if his human had purposefully chosen not to give him a place of rendezvous. He was silently fuming, swimming just under the water’s surface when he heard his name.

  
_:Tom,:_ came the whisper-shout. It was in the same hissy, sounds-like-English-but-isn’t language that Tom’s human had spoken to him earlier. Tom had tried speaking it to Melark but that had only earned him a glare before the older mer had launched into a full-blown scolding session, at the end of which Tom had found himself feeling chastised but unrepentant.

  
_:We have a special language,:_ Tom said as his head poked the surface. _:Just the two of_ us. _No one else understands.:_ Tom’s human smiled at him indulgently, before sitting down with his legs in the water. Tom immediately wrapped his arms around his human’s calves and put his chin in the boy’s lap. The latter tensed for a moment, then started to comb his fingers through Tom’s hair.

  
_:I never told you my name,:_ Tom’s human said. _:My name is Harry Potter. I’m not sure it’s a good idea to tell you my name, but people say I’m either extremely dumb or damn barmy. I’ll let you decide which. In the meantime,:_ he said as he pulled something from an inner pocket, _:This is for you.:_

  
It was a pouch and Harry mimicked opening it. Tom did and put his hand inside. His eyes widened as his whole arm went in. He finally found the bottom and felt around until he came to a pile of objects. He pulled one out and it turned out to be an arm bracelet. It was shiny, just as he’d asked. He looked up at Harry and smiled happily, handing the bracelet to the boy before proffering his upper arm. Harry chuckled before tying the bracelet on his arm.

  
_:I had to go to Diagon Alley for that,:_ Harry said. _:I’m convinced the goblins think I’m slightly crazy for asking them to make up an inventory of all the jewellery I have in my vaults.:_

  
_:You have more?:_ Tom asked, unable to completely mask his greed. Fortunately, it only seemed to make Harry smile wider.

  
_:Yes, but it’s best to leave them there,:_ Harry answered. Tom made a face and Harry laughed. _:You don’t really have a proper place to hide them down there, do you? The vaults are safer. You can keep these ones, though. And I made the pouch larger so that you may fit in whatever catches your fancy.:_

  
Tom supposed he could see the logic in that. It didn’t mean that he was happy about it and he made sure Harry was aware by nipping at the boy’s fingers. Harry only laughed louder and Tom felt strange in his chest. He decided that he rather liked seeing his human laugh like that.

  
But, Tom was feeling a bit mischievous.

  
The mer wrapped his tail around Harry and gave the boy a tug. In the split-second before he was dragged in, Harry’s eyes widened and he uttered a short : _fuck!_ _:._ Tom let go, swam away a little ways, and grinned as Harry resurfaced, glaring at the mer.

  
_:What the fuck?:_ he demanded. _:And why the fuck?:_ Tom shrugged and swam closer.

  
_:I felt like it,:_ he answered. Harry rolled his eyes and, half-heartedly, splashed some water at Tom. The mer came closer and coiled his tail in a circle on the lakebed. Harry stepped into the coil and put his hand against Tom’s chest.

  
_:You’re alive,:_ Harry whispered, reverently. Tom nodded and put his hand over Harry’s. They stayed like that for a while until Tom decided to ask the one question he had been burning to ask since they last met.

  
_:How do you know me?:_

***

Harry’s breath hitched and he struggled with himself, wondering what he could or should tell Tom. The mer seemed to grow impatient and Harry came to a most stupid decision.

  
_:I killed you,:_ he said. Tom’s fingers slackened on his and he made to let go, but Harry turned his hand around and twined their fingers. _:Don’t! Don’t run away from me, Riddle.:_

  
_:Why not? You tried to kill me.:_ Tom asked, clearly panicked though he attempted to hide it behind a mask of cold fury. It would’ve worked on anyone else, but Harry had long since learnt to recognise the tell-tale signs of his fear. Still holding on to the mer’s hand, Harry wrapped his arms around Tom’s pale torso, twisting the latter’s arm behind his back. He put his head to the mer’s chest and held on tight as Tom struggled to free himself. Eventually, the mer calmed down and Harry sighed against his chest.

  
_:I’m not going to try again, idiot,:_ he admonished. _:If I were, I’d have done so the moment we met. Besides, you also tried to kill me earlier. I think we’re even.:_

  
Tom snarled in his ear but Harry could feel him relax.

  
_:This hurts,:_ Tom whined. _:Would you, at least, let go?:_ Harry nodded, mainly because the mer really seemed to be uncomfortable.

  
What happened next made the idea that Harry might be extremely dumb seem like a very likely possibility.

  
Tom immediately wrapped his tail around Harry’s ankles and tossed him against the shore. Harry landed on his side and felt the bones in his left arm snap. He howled in pain and Tom seemed to want to come to him.

However, he’d obviously decided against it as Harry watched him slip under the waves one more time. Harry stood up careful to avoid moving his left arm. He stood at the water-edge, trying to see if Tom was still there, somewhere. The water, which was already inky in daylight, seemed to become even more opaque at night and Harry could see nothing. He eventually gave up.

  
_:I’ll be here tomorrow night, too!:_ he shouted. He waited a few moments for a response. When none came, he decided to take himself to the hospital wing and started working on a story to explain why he was on Hogwarts property so late and how he had managed to hurt himself so badly.

  
***

  
Tom watched, silently fuming, as Harry left. He slapped his tail against the lakebed a few times, causing more chaotic waves on the surface, but Harry did not turn back and Tom did not know how he felt about that.   
Only that it was unpleasant.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Questions? Comments? Insults?

**Author's Note:**

> Well? Did I do this justice at all?


End file.
